Jackie Chan

"Don't try to be like Jackie. There is only one Jackie... Study computers instead." -Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan is one of the world's biggest box-office draws, and is famous for his mind-boggling stunt work. Among his biggest worldwide successes are Rumble in the Bronx, Shanghai Noon, Shanghai Knights, and Rush Hour 1, 2 and 3.

MAGNETISM

There have been at least two reports of women committing suicide upon hearing that Jackie Chan has a girlfriend or is engaged. Woman magnetism? No, it's more like "woman death wish." He might not look like your typical Hollywood thoroughbred à la Brad Pitt, but never doubt Jackie's massive appeal with the fairer sex.

SUCCESS

Jackie Chan's accomplishments are so numerous that even MTV honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. His film credits are so vast that Jackie sometimes has a hard time remembering all his performances.

But for a better indication of how much influence he carries in Asia, here is a little anecdote: He once mentioned a particular bottle of wine that he liked to a reporter. When the story got published, the price of that bottle of wine tripled and rapidly sold out across stores in Hong Kong. If only he would recommend stocks too.

Jackie Chan Biography

Jackie Chan (born Chan Kong-sang) can trace his origins to Hong Kong, where he was born to parents Charles and Lee-Lee Chan on April 7, 1954. His parents were so poor at the time of his birth, that they contemplated giving him up for adoption to the doctor who delivered him, since they couldn't afford the hospital bill.

But because the birth of their only child made it too hard to give him up, the Chan family labored in order to have money to raise their "Year of the Horse" son. Chan's father was employed as a cook in the French Embassy, while his mother worked as a housekeeper, but they eventually relocated to Australia, where his father worked as head chef in the American Embassy.

jackie chan, the artist

A 7-year-old Chan was sent back to Hong Kong, where he would become a student at the strict China Drama Academy for 10 years. There he endured 19-hour days of the kind of acrobatic action we see in Jackie Chan movies today; integrating mime, dance and martial arts, all thanks to very strict training.

Along with six more of the Opera Master's pupils, Chan (renamed Yuen Lou) became one of the sensational Seven Little Fortunes, after performing in an Opera of the same name. The Opera Master lent the septet as stuntmen to Chinese films, which is how Chan earned a reputation as an incredible stuntman.

After his introduction to the film company Golden Harvest, Chan began his stunt magic in the 1971 Bruce Lee films Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon (he also made Asian film history as the only one to successfully complete an extremely high fall).

Chan was finally cast in a rather substantial role in the film The Little Tiger of Guanddong (1971) and appeared in John Woo's Hand of Death (1976). But when the leading martial arts master of the time, Bruce Lee, suddenly passed away, popular director Lo Wei wanted to prime Chan as the next dragon, and even bestowed upon him the name "Sing Lung," which means "to become the dragon."

jackie chan is a dragon no more

But after acting à la Bruce Lee proved to be a film disaster, Chan moved on to bigger plans and decided to go back to classic comedy and film as inspiration. Essentially, he wanted to use the slapstick antics of Buster Keaton and chivalrous grace of Fred Astaire, rather than the traditional kung fu style of action.

While a star in Asia, Chan had yet to break through with a hit in the United States. The late '70s and the '80s were marked by huge hits for Chan, such as Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978), Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978), Drunken Master (1978), and The Fearless Hyena (1979), Project A (1983), Wheels on Meals (1984), Dragons Forever (1988), and Miracles (1989).

Although he was signed with Golden Harvest, was Asia's highest paid actor, and had more than 60 films to his credit, Chan still had to succeed at what proved to be his toughest feat: Becoming a Hollywood star.

He got a break when he appeared in TheBig Brawl (1980), Cannonball Run (1984) and The Protector (1985), but due to his poor English skills and even poorer promotion of the films in America, Chan wasn't more than a fleeting thought in the U.S.

But Chan scored during his second attempt to break into Hollywood, with the 1995 film Rumble in the Bronx. He was even honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1994 MTV Movie Awards. His 1999 comedy opposite Chris Tucker, Rush Hour, received critical and commercial praise, while 2000's Shanghai Noon, with Lucy Lui and Owen Wilson, was also considered to be a great success for Chan -- and made Mr. Nice Guy (1997) pretty forgettable, thankfully.

jackie chan makes sequels and his own company

The runaway success of Shanghai Noon and Rush Hour inevitably led Jackie into making the sequels Shanghai Knights in 2003, Rush Hour 2 in 2001 and Rush Hour 3 in 2007. And though Jackie's box-office take in Hollywood proved to be more than most actor's could ever hope for, the superstar became tired with the treatment of Asian actors in Tinseltown. This dissatisfaction led Jackie to create his production company, Jackie Chan Emperor Movies Limited, which went on to produce many box-office hits in Asia, including New Police Story (2004), The Myth (2005) and Rob-B-Hood (2006).

And though Jackie may have become disenchanted with Hollywood, he does pick and choose projects in L.A. when they interest him. Most notable among his North American projects is the the animated Kung Fu Panda (2008), in which he'll supply the voice of Master Monkey, and The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) with fellow martial-arts master Jet Li.